Hoylake Golf Resort - Financial risk

The request was successful.

John H Hutchinson

Dear Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council,
What steps has Council taken to protect itself and its Council Tax and Business Tax-payers from financial losses should the golf resort development at Hoylake, fail?

Yours faithfully,

John H Hutchinson

InfoMgr, FinDMT, Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr John H Hutchinson

 

 

Thank you for your correspondence OF 9 February 2018 in which you asked:

“What steps has Council taken to protect itself and its Council Tax and
Business Tax-payers from financial losses should the golf resort
development at Hoylake, fail?”

 

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 relates only to information already
held in recorded form. The question you have asked is not for recorded
information.  However, in response the Council would like to state that
all possible practical measures have been put in place to protect public
investment in the Hoylake Golf Resort project.  

 

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

 

Lynette Paterson

Senior Information Management Officer

Business Services - Digital

 

Treasury Building

Argyle Street
Birkenhead
Wirral
CH41 1AH

 

[1]Tel: 0151 691 8201

[2][Wirral Borough Council request email]

 

 

[3]LGC Awards15_Winner_MIP

 

 

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ScarletPimpernel left an annotation ()

Hi John,

Which is not entirely true, as Wirral Council councillors were given advice over the Hoylake Golf Resort contract https://ico.org.uk/media/action-weve-tak... that Wirral Council didn't want to share with the public (presumably some of that covers financial risk)!

And let's face it it took a judicial case and regulatory action for Wirral Council to partially disclose the contract! https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/p... .

There were questions asked yesterday evening at the Birkenhead Constituency Committee about the project which you can watch starting here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxs6GIzG... .

I think it was stated in answer to a one question that Wirral Council would charge 5% interest on the £millions they will lend for the project that's already been agreed in principle (subject to planning permission).

John H Hutchinson

Dear Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council's handling of my FOI request 'Hoylake Golf Resort - Financial risk'.

The reply cannot be correct because Council and NJVG have signed an Agreement that must have addressed the risks to and protection of public funds.

If the reply is correct and Council has not got written evidence of its due diligence and assurance that public funds are safe, then Council will be guilty of failure of fiduciary duty if public money is lost.

I shall be grateful if you will review the reply in order to reassure me.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/h...

Yours faithfully,

John H Hutchinson

Lyon, Rosemary A., Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Hutchinson,

 

I refer to your email dated 9 February in which you made the following
request for information:

 

What steps has the Council taken to protect itself and its Council Tax and
Business Tax-payers from financial losses should the golf resort
development at Hoylake, fail?

 

The Council responded on 1 March and indicated that it did not hold
recorded information in respect of your request. I refer to your email of
2 March when you asked for an internal review as follows:-

 

Dear Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council,

 

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information
reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Wirral Metropolitan Borough
Council's handling of my FOI request 'Hoylake Golf Resort - Financial
risk'.

 

The reply cannot be correct because Council and NJVG have signed an
Agreement that must have addressed the risks to and protection of public
funds.

 

If the reply is correct and Council has not got written evidence of its
due diligence and assurance that public funds are safe, then Council will
be guilty of failure of fiduciary duty if public money is lost.

 

I shall be grateful if you will review the reply in order to reassure me.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on
the Internet at this address:
[1]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/h...

 

I consider that your request for information should be considered under
the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 as the information you have
requested is environmental information under the Environmental Information
Regulations 2004, (“EIR”). Regulation 2 (1) (c) of the EIR provides that
measures including administrative measures), such as policies,
legislation, plans, programmes, environmental agreements, and activities
affecting or likely to affect the elements is environmental information.
Plans and activities likely to affect  the land which will form part of
the proposed Hoylake Golf Resort Project come within the definition of
environmental information.

 

I uphold the response that the Council does not hold recorded information
about the steps the Council has taken to protect itself and its Council
Tax and Business Tax-payers from financial losses should the golf resort
development at Hoylake, fail.

 

You state in your email of 2 March that “The reply cannot be correct
because Council and NJVG have signed an Agreement that must have addressed
the risks to and protection of public funds.” You are raising a different
issue here in referring  to the pre-development phase of the project which
is covered by the Council’s Development Agreement with the Nicklaus Joint
Venture Group and which is subject to many safeguards to protect public
investment during the development and construction phases. Having regard
to the Council’s duty to advise and assist in responding to requests for
information under the EIR, I enclose a copy of the Development Agreement
(redacted in part) which was already in the public domain following a
separate request for information from another requester.

 

You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner if you are
dissatisfied with this response.. The address of the Information
Commissioner’s Office is:-

Wycliffe House,

Water Lane,

Wilmslow,

Cheshire SK9 5AF

Tel -0303 123 113

[2]https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Rosemary Lyon,

Solicitor

 

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John H Hutchinson

Dear Lyon, Rosemary A.,
thank you!

I am considering a complaint to the ICO.

Yours sincerely,

John H Hutchinson